Trump-Musk Administration’s Political Purge of the Federal Workforce

(WASHINGTON, DC – March 5, 2025) – Yesterday, Rep. Kweisi Mfume, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations, and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led Committee Democrats in introducing a Resolution of Inquiry to investigate the Trump-Musk Administration’s unprecedented attacks on federal workers and their efforts to embed political loyalists into the federal government who are willing to turn a blind eye to corruption and grift.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk are destroying this country and unfortunately the Republican majority in Congress has been sitting by idly while they do it. Our Constitutional duty is to provide oversight of the executive branch and this Resolution of Inquiry is part of that work,” said Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Ranking Member of the Government Operations Subcommittee. “Democrats in Congress are here to do the work, let’s see if our Republican colleagues are ready to step up. It will be too late at some point and Americans in every part of the nation will feel the pain from the Trump-Musk bad decisions.”

“As Co-Presidents Trump and Musk take a wrecking ball to our government, undermine vital services and lifesaving programs, and upend the lives of hundreds of thousands of federal workers, Republicans refuse to conduct legitimate oversight of a wannabe strongman and rogue billionaire on behalf of the American people—even ignoring their own constituents’ calls for action. Oversight Democrats will always answer the call. This Resolution of Inquiry demands the Administration answer for its attempts to silence independent oversight, purge the federal workforce of non-partisan experts, and erode the safeguards that protect taxpayer dollars. I encourage Republicans to remember their duty as a co-equal branch of government and ensure the Administration answers for the chaos they’ve unleashed,” said Ranking Member Connolly.

The Resolution of Inquiry (ROI) would require the Trump Administration to provide documents, communications, and factual information concerning its termination and removal of federal employees, its termination of inspectors general, its coordination with Elon Musk and DOGE, and the Trump Campaign involvement in some of the activity. Once introduced, the Committee to which the ROI is referred has 14 legislative days to act on and report the resolution to the U.S. House of Representatives or it is automatically subject to being discharged from the Committee and brought to the House floor under a privileged and non-debatable motion to discharge.

The ROI led by Congressman Mfume would require the Administration to provide documents, communications, and information regarding: all federal employees put on administrative leave, removed, terminated, transferred, or assigned to another department on the recommendation of Elon Musk or DOGE; the Office of Personnel Management’s determination that employees classified as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or employed in an office that conducts work to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in government would be subject to removal; and the removal of nonpartisan agency inspectors general, and whether the Administration discussed notifying Congress as legally required.

Committee Democrats have opened numerous ongoing investigations into DOGE and the Trump-Musk Administration’s ongoing purge of the federal workforce, using every tool at their disposal to hold the Administration accountable to the American people and prevent corruption from taking root and poisoning our democratic institutions. For example:

On January 25, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly led House Committee Ranking Members in condemning President Trump’s attempted late-night purge of at least 12 independent inspectors general. A move that violated federal law designed to protect their work from political interference and intimidation.
On February 3, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly led all Committee Democrats in sending a letter to President Donald Trump, requesting documents and information regarding his “deferred resignation” offer sent en mass to the federal workforce, and urging him to rescind the offer. The letter cites concerns that it is an illegal scam that will decimate the civil service, endanger federal employees, and cause immeasurable harm to the services the American public depend on.
On February 3, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly led all Committee Democrats in sending a letter to President Donald Trump, demanding the President cease his purge of nonpartisan civil servants, including career professionals and independent government watchdogs. This action comes after repeated outrageous attacks by the Administration against federal employees and agency operations over the past two weeks. This letter is in addition to Committee Democrats’ insistence that President Trump and Elon Musk rescind their illegal “deferred resignation” scam offer to federal employees.
On February 5, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly introduced a motion to subpoena Elon Musk to testify before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, citing Mr. Musk’s ongoing efforts to infiltrate and eviscerate government agencies. Republican Members of the Committee ran to the hearing room to block Democrats’ call for transparency and shield Mr. Musk instead.
On February 7, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Military and Foreign Affairs, wrote a letter to Marco Rubio, Acting Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), requesting documents and information on the Trump-Musk effort to freeze foreign aid and purge USAID, citing mass firings and the effective illegal elimination of the agency.
On February 24, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly led more than 100 House Democrats in sending a letter to the heads of the 24 CFO Act federal agencies, demanding they immediately clarify to their agencies that federal employees do not have to respond to Elon Musk’s ill-conceived, reckless email and that nonresponse does not constitute resignation.
On March 3, 2025, Ranking Member Connolly led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Charles Ezell requesting documents and information regarding the Trump-Musk Administration’s efforts to purge non-partisan, civil servants in probationary status and reinstate all whom were unlawfully terminated.